mortar

¹ American  

[mawr-ter] / ˈmɔr tər /

noun

1. a receptacle of hard material, having a bowl-shaped cavity in which substances are reduced to powder with a pestle.

2. any of various mechanical appliances in which substances are pounded or ground.

3. a cannon very short in proportion to its bore, for throwing shells at high angles.

4. some similar contrivance, as for throwing pyrotechnic bombs or a lifeline.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to attack with mortar fire or shells.

mortar ² American  

[mawr-ter] / ˈmɔr tər /

noun

1. a mixture of lime or cement or a combination of both with sand and water, used as a bonding agent between bricks, stones, etc.

2. any of various materials or compounds for bonding together bricks, stones, etc..

   Bitumen was used as a mortar.

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verb (used with object)

1. to plaster or fix with mortar.

mortar British  

/ ˈmɔːtə /

noun

1. a mixture of cement or lime or both with sand and water, used as a bond between bricks or stones or as a covering on a wall

2. a muzzle-loading cannon having a short barrel and relatively wide bore that fires low-velocity shells in high trajectories over a short range

3. a similar device for firing lifelines, fireworks, etc

4. a vessel, usually bowl-shaped, in which substances are pulverized with a pestle

5. mining a cast-iron receptacle in which ore is crushed

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verb

1. to join (bricks or stones) or cover (a wall) with mortar

2. to fire on with mortars

3. dialect to trample (on)

mortar Idioms  

1. see bricks and mortar.

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Other Word Forms

• mortarless
  adjective
• mortary
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of mortar¹

before 1000; Middle English, Old English mortere and Old French mortier < Latin mortārium; mortar ¹ ( defs. 3, 4 ) translation of French mortier < Latin, as above; see -ar ²

Origin of mortar²

1250–1300; Middle English morter < Anglo-French; Old French mortier mortar ¹, hence the mixture produced in it

Explanation

A mortar is a bowl-shaped container that you can grind things in using a pestle. You probably buy your spices pre-ground at the store, but if you wanted to be old-school, you could grind them yourself with a mortar and pestle. Mortar is an old word — it comes from Old English, and using a mortar to smash things up is old way of cooking. It's also the builder's paste used between bricks. If you've heard the phrase "brick and mortar," that's a style of building, as well as a general phrase for something with a real building (as opposed to an internet business). And it's also a gun that fires high bullets that land short-range.

Example Sentences

"Not only were oysters harvested for food from the earliest days of colonization, but the reefs themselves were dredged and the shells crushed and burned to make lime for cement and mortar," she says.

From Science Daily • Apr. 6, 2026

Some doors and emergency exits at the palace had been sealed with bricks and mortar, and staff instructed not to speak publicly about the incident, according to Corriere.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Now, the tech company is hitting back at Walmart in bricks and mortar retail, proposing to build a 225,000 square-foot store located in suburban Chicago.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

And this is not some archaic cinderblock and mortar contraption: It’s a top-of-the-line, high-tech fabrication.

From Slate • Dec. 29, 2025

She didn’t have the mortar and pestle Mama would have used in this situation back at the Night Zoo, but she improvised, using a rock to grind the seeds against a large leaf.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

• cannon
• handgun
• hardware
• piece
• pistol
• revolver
• rifle
• shotgun